The November issue of British Music Magazine Wire carries a beautiful shot of german saxophonist Peter Brützmann (now 71) on the cover. Inside you find a long and very interview with Brötzmann focussing not only on his music but also on his rough and brutish visual art. This is followed by a seven page “primer” giving beginners a thorough overview over what one could deem to be Brötzmann’s most important records. All in all a must for fans of Brötzmann.

When I started to listen to jazz in the early eighties, I started with Free Jazz. At that time I lived in the Ruhrgebiet in a town not very far from Wuppertal (which is not in the Ruhrgebiet), where Brötzmann is and was living. Every other months you could find Brötz playing in one of the towns that make up the Ruhrgebiet – at one time solo in maybe a gallery, then in some trio setting in some jazz club, then maybe in a larger venue where he was playing with Bill Laswell, Shannon Jackson and Sonny Sharrock as Last Exit.

I know that Brötzmann hates to be labeled Furor Teutonicus and the like, and yes, I love his romantic solo outings as well as his you-know-what. But let’s be frank: What you look for when hearing Brötzmann, is catharsis and mind clearing abrasive noise. Which is exactly what you get from this little clip I just found on an old VHS cassette: